Baby Milestones I Won’t Miss

By Lisa LaGrou

I was cleaning out the basement recently to clear some space and to get some items to sell at my mother's annual garage sale. I suddenly became very nostalgic when I tripped (literally) over some of my children's old toys. Gone forever are the days when my son would plink away at his baby keyboard mat and gone are the days when my daughter would sit for hours with her Fisher Price Little People Barn playset. I didn’t realize it but my life was locked into fast-forward back then and I guess I imagined my children always being at an age where they would play with these toys.

I talked to my husband at dinner that night and we both reminisced about the toys and the milestones that came and went seemingly before we could blink. At the height of our baby milestone nostalgia, my husband started laughing and said "yeah, but what about all the bad ones?" We started rolling as we came up with our own "good riddance list." Here are some baby milestones we won't miss:

Quick Clicks

The Wiggles: The Wiggles (or any toddler programming for that matter) were an addiction for my son, and he held on pretty tightly for about 2 straight years. Wiggles songs permeated our house regularly and, to this day, I can still sing "Rock a Bye Your Bear" and do the accompanying dance perfectly.

The diaper pail: I'm not going to get too gross here. Let's just say that with a 6 month old and a two year old, our diaper pail worked overtime. So much so that we stored the thing OUTSIDE on our patio. Those diapers would freeze like bricks in the winter.Potty training: If you don't know the joys of not putting Cheerios in the toilet bowl anymore to give your son "something to aim at," you're not there yet. I also have some not-so-fond memories of literally running to find a public restroom, praying that my newly potty-trained toddler had a bladder of steel that would carry us (dryly) until we reached our destination. And, yes of course, there are the memories of cleaning the soiled underpants for those times when they didn’t make it to the bathroom.

The snot sucker: The bulbous, light-blue snot sucker is long gone and I couldn't be happier about it. I can’t recall what was worse, using it or cleaning it out. Back in the day, I was a skilled marksman with that thing. My kids are now skilled in the art of nose blowing and I have no idea where it is now (and I don't ever want to find it).

Wall sockets: I can now plug a household appliance in without having to take out the tricky plastic devices (and bust a nail painfully in the process). My seven year old is on her own now if she decides to get curious about forks and light sockets.

Baby gates: My earliest post-partum exercise consisted of stepping over baby gates. (I could never find a free hand to open it.) The only bright spot to the baby gate was I once witnessed my husband take a tumble in the hallway trying to step over it. Even his mumbled curse words were somewhat comical.

Car seats: The absence of baby seats in the car has shortened our family trips by 10 minutes each way. Don't laugh. It adds up.

What are some baby milestones you are glad are in the rearview mirror?

About the author:

Lisa LaGrou is the founder of OaklandCountyMoms.com. She and her team work to present quality content to their readers. Lisa likes to provide information and options for families about a myriad of topics without preaching or condoning. If she experiences something, she want to share it. If she doesn't know about something, she tries to find information to share. She's delighted when people contact her with suggestions about content and resources. For more information on how to become a member of Oakland County Moms click HERE.

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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